Airstrikes Target IS Fighters In Border Town

Two new airstrikes have reportedly been carried out against Islamic State (IS) targets around the Syrian border town of Kobani.

Thick black smoke could be seen billowing into the air from a hill on the eastern side of the town, according to the AFP news agency.

A second strike, a few hours later, sent a cloud of smoke above the northeastern side of the city.

They were the first airstrikes since a flurry of attacks yesterday, which some sources said had helped Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) push back the IS militants.

Idris Nahsen, a Kurdish official from Kobani, said the airstrikes had been helpful.

"The situation has changed since Tuesday," he said. "YPG forces have pushed back IS forces."

Video: IS Footage Shows Kobani Onslaught

It comes after at least 12 people were killed during pro-Kurdish demonstrations in Turkey, with protesters claiming the country is not doing enough in the fight against Islamic State jihadists.

According to reports, five people have been killed in Diyarbakir, the largest town in Turkey's majority-Kurdish southeast region.

Several other deaths were recorded in other southeastern towns, including three in Mardin, two in Siirt, one in Batman and another in Mus.

Police have also used tear gas and water cannon to disperse angry protests in Istanbul and Ankara.

Video: Turkey Turns Water Cannon On Kurds

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala accused the pro-Kurdish protesters of "betraying their own country".

"Violence will be met with violence," he said.

"This irrational attitude should immediately be abandoned and (the protesters) should withdraw from the streets."

The demonstrations called by the main pro-Kurdish party, the People's Democratic Party (HDP), stem from claims that Ankara is failing to intervene militarily against IS jihadists fighting for Kobani.

1/14

1. Gallery: Assad's Forces Seize Area From Islamists

   Forces of Syria's President Bashar al Assad carry a Syrian flag as they head towards a spot where a flag of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front is positioned on a hillside in Zor al-Mahruqa village

2. Assad's forces said they had regained control of the area and its surrounding hills, in the Hama countryside

3. The flag of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front is burnt on the hill

5. The Syrian national flag is erected

6. Assad forces inspect military equipment, which they said were left behind by rebel fighters in Zor al-Mahruqa village

7. An abandoned base where caves were dug by rebel fighters in Zor al-Mahruqa village

10. Assad forces inspect an underground base where caves were dug by rebel fighters in the nearby al-Hareeqa village

12. A Polish army member hods the German flag in front of an Eurofighter aircraft during a visit of new NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway (not pictured) at Lask air base

13. NATO will stand by member state Turkey if it comes under attack as a result of the fighting in neighboring Syria, alliance Secretary-General Stoltenberg said

Some 400 people are believed to have been killed in the town and thousands displaced during weeks of fighting.

US, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates jets had previously launched five attacks against targets south of the city.

In a statement, US Central Command said four armed vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, a tank and a militant unit were hit during the strikes.

Reports suggest the fighting has become less intense following the coalition attacks.

1/20

1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

Reporter Jenan Moussa, positioned just 500m over the border in Turkey, told Sky News: "I can still hear shooting and shelling but (it is) nothing compared to Monday.

"I heard and I saw three airstrikes. One on the western side and two on the eastern."

Meanwhile, officials in Baghdad say IS militants have downed an Iraqi military helicopter near the refinery town of Beiji, killing the two pilots on board.

A military aviation official said the militants used a shoulder-fired missile to take down the Bell 407 helicopter north of Beiji on Wednesday. The town is home to Iraq's largest oil refinery and is located about about 130 miles north of Baghdad.

It comes after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan warned Kobani was "about to fall".

Canada has also now agreed to join the coalition of forces carrying out airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Military Jet Crashes In Lincolnshire

A US fighter pilot ejected to safety as his military jet crashed in a Lincolnshire field.

Emergency services were alerted by members of the public to the incident, involving an F-15 fighter plane, near Broadgate in Weston Hills, at about 3.30pm.

Police advised people to avoid the area as fumes from the burning plane may be hazardous.

A spokesman for USAF's 48 Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirmed one of its F-15s was involved in the incident during a training exercise.

He added: "The pilot ejected and is safe."

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: "The pilot appears to have escaped with very minor injury and has left the scene by helicopter.

"The plane has come down in an isolated rural area and no premises have been affected.

"A cordon has been put in place and the public are advised to avoid the area as the plane is alight and the fumes may be hazardous."

More follows...

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Apocalyptic Prophecy Fuelling IS Militants

An ancient prophecy that sees an "infidel horde" in a monumental battle with an Islamic army in the Syrian town of Dabiq has apparently been seized upon by IS fundamentalists.

The Sunni Muslim tale dates back more than 1,300 years and tells of the "horde" flying 80 banners before an Islamic triumph that triggers the end of days.

It has become a fundamental part of the philosophy that drives Islamic State militants.

Dabiq, the Islamic State magazine

Having captured Dabiq in August, the town's symbolic significance far outweighs its relatively minor strategic importance to the group, compared with cities it controls such as Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.

But as the militants come under heavy bombardment from the air by the US and allies seeking to halt their march, Dabiq is increasingly becoming a rallying call.

Video: Sam Kiley On The Battle For Kobani

Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institute, said: "It raises morale.

"It is fair to assume that the vast majority of (IS) fighters believe in this type of talk."

The prophecy itself was made by the Prophet Mohammed, according to his companion Abu Hurayrah's report, or hadith.

Abu Hurayrah is described as the most prolific narrator of hadith - accounts of the Prophet Mohammed's deeds, teachings and sayings - in Sunni Islam, adding to the importance of the prophecy in the eyes of IS.

Video: Where Does IS Get Its Money?

Among IS supporters on social media, Dabiq has become a byword for a struggle against the West, with the US-led coalition portrayed as modern-day Crusaders. IS has even named its official magazine Dabiq.

One Twitter user in Tunisia recently wrote: "The lions of Islam have raised the banner of the Caliphate in Dabiq. Now they await the arrival of the Crusader army."

The prophecy has been passed down in different versions, but in all cases it features a great battle between a Muslim army and the forces of non-believers.

IS supporters have been interpreting a series of recent events as further evidence of its truth.

Video: Is Town 'About To Fall' To IS?

The US-led coalition's members now number more than 60 countries, with many watching closely in anticipation of when the prophecy's "80 banners" are reached.

Comments by US General Martin Dempsey on the possible need for ground forces have also been seized on by some as a signal, with supporters on Twitter using the hashtag: "It is Dabiq, by God."

In reference to the prophecy, one user simply posted: "When you despair of your air power, you will find us waiting in Dabiq."

Anjem Choudary, a radical British Islamist preacher who has expressed support for IS, said he did not believe Muslims sought to make the foretold battle a reality.

1/10

1. Gallery: The Moment RAF Jet Attacks IS Truck

   The RAF carried out its first airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq on 1 October, 2014 (All pictures: MoD)

2. Tornados destroyed a heavy weapon position, which was attacking Kurdish forces, and an armed pick-up truck (pictured). The red circle shows the path of the missile fired at the vehicle

3. The strikes were the first since MPs voted to support aerial raids in Iraq last Friday

4. The targets were in the northwest of Iraq

5. The moment the truck, which had a mounted machine gun, was destroyed by a Brimstone missile

6. A plume of smoke rose above the area

7. The strike was successful, according to an initial assessment, said Defence Secretary Michael Fallon

8. The Tornados safely returned to their base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after the sortie

9. Six of the GR4 fighter jets are based on the island in the Mediterranean

10. The aircraft began their combat missions on Saturday

"It could happen now; it could happen in the future," he said.

"I don't think any Muslim strives to bring it about."

But many IS supporters are convinced of the prophecy's validity, with one writing on Twitter: "Dabiq will happen for certain.

"The US and its allies will descend on Syria once they see that the air campaign has failed. That is a promise by God and his Messenger."

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clegg Admits Lib Dems Tainted By Government

Nick Clegg has said his party has been tainted by time in Government, as he pledged never to make a tuition fees-style "mistake" again.

In his final conference speech before the General Election, the Liberal Democrat leader admitted he was no longer the "untainted ... fresh-faced outsider" who rode into the coalition on the back of "Cleggmania" in 2010.

Mr Clegg accused the Conservatives of lurching right and Labour of lurching left to combat the threat of UKIP, claiming the middle ground for his party ahead of the vote in May.

Nick Clegg's speech: word cloud

He thanked Ed Miliband for forgetting to mention the deficit in his speech at the Labour party conference, and he thanked the Chancellor George Osborne for announcing he would take away benefits from working age poor - making the party's job easier.

Mr Clegg said the Liberal Democrats were the only party to stand for "decent British values" and against the politics of "blame and grievance and fear" on offer from the other parties and he would "keep hammering away at the system every single day".

Video: Clegg: The Politics Of Blame

And he said he had debated with Nigel Farage on the European Union because someone had to stand up for "liberal Britain".

The Deputy Prime Minister listed all of the Lib Dems' triumphs while in Government, including increasing the personal tax allowance - effectively awarding tax cuts to millions - free childcare, better parental leave, gay marriage and the pupil premium for disadvantaged children.

He said he would not stand by and see the Tories claiming the credit for all the Liberal Democrats had done, telling activists: "David Cameron, you can copy our ideas but you will never imitate our values."

Video: Nick Clegg On Terror Threat

Mr Clegg vowed to increase the personal tax free allowance to £11,000 by 2016 and £12,500 by 2020.

He accused the Conservatives of plagiarising Liberal Democrat policy with Mr Cameron's conference pledge increase the amount people can earn without being taxed to £12,500 by 2020, which would mean a tax cut for 30 million people. 

Increasing the personal allowance was part of the Liberal Democrats' manifesto pledge in 2010 but in the televised leaders debates Mr Cameron told Mr Clegg his plans were unaffordable.

Video: Clegg Invokes The Pub Landlord

Mr Clegg disclosed a conversation with Mr Osborne in which the Chancellor told him: "I don't want to deliver a Liberal Democrat budget"

In his speech, Mr Clegg also hit back at Home Secretary Theresa May for "playing on people's fears simply to try and get your own way".

In her speech to the Tory conference last week, Mrs May accused the Lib Dems of putting children's lives at risk by opposing measures that would allow intelligence agencies access to all phone, internet and email records.

Video: Clegg: Tories Stole Our Tax Policy

Mr Clegg said: "Your Communications Data Bill was disproportionate, disempowering - we blocked it once and we'd do it again.

"There are times when the state needs to keep its nose out of our lives, to give us the freedom to make the most of our lives."

He also had a rebuke for Mr Cameron over his attitude to environmental policies telling party activists: "It's not green c*** to us" as he made a manifesto pledge to five new green laws.

Video: Full Interview: Deputy PM's Wife

The Prime Minister was reported last year to have said: "We've got to get rid of all this green c***."

Mr Clegg also promised the vow on the devolution of powers to Scotland promised by the three party leaders would not be broken.

He paid tribute to the two Britons killed by Islamic State terrorists, saying their deaths had provided British forces in Iraq with a "clear, single objective".

Video: Sky News By-Election Special

He also announced there would be national waiting times for mental health patients and, like Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband, he pledged to increase spending on the like DNHS.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ebola Nurse Touched Her Face With Glove

The Spanish nurse being treated for ebola says she touched her face with a tainted protective glove after helping treat a man dying from the virus.

Theresa Romero, 40, is in quarantine in a Madrid hospital but told doctors she believes she made the mistake after cleaning up after the man.

Heath officials said she had twice entered the room of Spanish missionary Manuel Garcia Viejo - once to change his incontinence pad and then to retrieve items after he had died.

Mrs Romero is the first person to contract the virus outside Africa.

She earlier told El Mundo she had no idea how she was infected and that she had followed all precautions.

Teresa Ramos says she followed all the safety procedures

Another three people are also quarantined at the Carlos III hospital, including the woman's husband - who had made a video appeal for authorities not to destroy the couple's dog Excalibur.

But according to unconfirmed reports the animal was euthanised at the veterinary hospital at Madrid's Complutense University on Wednesday.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

Some 50 other people - who either had contact with Mrs Romero or treated one of the two missionaries who died at the hospital - are also being monitored.

Spanish leader Mariano Rajoy has called for calm and promised "transparency" over the scare, which has raised questions over whether strict safety rules were properly followed.

As West Africa struggles to cope with a spiralling infection rate, burial teams in Sierra Leone have reportedly gone on strike.

The workers, who arguably have one of the world's most dangerous jobs, complain they have not been paid.

The situation is "very embarrassing", said health ministry spokesman Sidie Yahya Tunis.

He promised that money was available for the workers.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

"We haven't been paid for two weeks, so we need our money right now," said one angry worker.

"We don't even care if dead bodies have been littered all over the city - all we want is our money. We've been stigmatised in our communities, so let the government pay us our money."

Sky's Alex Crawford saw first-hand the extreme precautions burial teams in the region have to take as they retrieve corpses.

She said teams in neighbouring Liberia - the worst affected country with more than 2,000 deaths - were overwhelmed, with "not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead".

Any temporary halt in collection only adds to the risk of further infection because the virus can stay on the bodies, said Sky's Health Correspondent Thomas Moore.

Six hundred people have died from the virus in Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation, and more than 3,400 in total.

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

The virus has swept through Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, with the World Bank saying the financial impact could hit $32.6bn (£20bn) by the end of the year

In Britain, David Cameron chaired an emergency meeting as four hospitals stand by to handle any UK cases.

The US has ordered security agents at airports and other entry ports to screen arriving travellers for signs of the disease.

Texas ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan - the first to be diagnosed with the disease in the US - died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, officials said.

The UN, meanwhile, has said one of its medical officials in Liberia has tested positive for ebola and is receiving treatment.

The unnamed official is the second member of their mission to contract the virus - the other died on 25 September.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ebola Outbreak: How Much Is Britain At Risk?

By Thomas Moore, Health And Science Correspondent

As a Spanish nurse becomes the first person outside West Africa to be infected with ebola, here we answer some of your questions.

Now the virus is in Europe, should I panic?

No. The infection of the Spanish nurse is almost certainly a one-off.

Health workers have to go through a strict de-robing procedure to prevent the virus being transferred from their protective gowns onto their skin.

If clothes are removed in the wrong order, if any shortcut is taken on handwashing, or if any sweat is wiped away from the eyes, there can be contamination.

It does not mean the virus is on the loose in Europe. The nurse's contacts have been traced and those deemed to be at high risk have been quarantined as a precaution.

The general population in the UK - or Spain, for that matter - is at no greater risk of ebola today than it was a week ago.

Nurse Teresa Ramos has ebola in Spain

Why bring infected health workers back from Africa at all?

British doctors and nurses are already treating ebola patients in West Africa.

Video: Ebola: School Blocks Charity Mum

Many more will be on their way within weeks, answering the humanitarian call to help countries that have been overwhelmed by the disease.

So far just one - Will Pooley - has been infected and brought back for treatment at London's Royal Free Hospital.

He would not have been able to get the best medical care in Sierra Leone, so the Government repatriated him with strict - and successful - quarantine controls.

But the International Development Secretary Justine Greening has acknowledged on Sky News there is a risk in transferring patients and a hospital is being built with UK money in Sierra Leone.

It will have 12 beds set aside for infected healthcare workers.

What about travellers - shouldn't we screen them?

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

Public Health England says there is no reason to check arriving air passengers for ebola symptoms. That's in line with advice from the World Health Organisation.

Firstly, it would duplicate the screening of people departing on flights from the affected countries in West Africa.

Secondly, British Airways has suspended direct flights between the UK and Sierra Leone and Liberia.

So passengers from the region would have to change planes in Paris, Brussels, or many other capitals.

Tens of thousands of passengers would have to be checked every day, causing long delays.

Thirdly, temperature scans only detect people with symptoms.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

A Liberian passenger treated in hospital in the US was healthy when he travelled and only developed symptoms several days later. Checks on arrival wouldn't have picked him up.

He has now died in a Dallas hospital.

So is the NHS prepared?

GPs have been sent a symptom checklist by Public Health England.

Anybody with a fever, who has recently returned from one of the affected countries in West Africa, will be rapidly risk-assessed.

If there is a high chance that their symptoms are due to ebola - rather than malaria or any other tropical disease - they will be quarantined at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Video: UK Ebola Risk 'Remains Low'

What if we get lots of ebola cases?

The specialist unit at the Royal Free has two beds.

But other NHS hospitals are on standby.

The Royal Liverpool, Royal Victoria in Newcastle and Royal Hallamshire in Sheffield are next in line to receive patients.

And any hospital with an infectious diseases unit could be adapted with quarantine canopies around beds to safely care for patients.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Texas Ebola Patient Thomas Eric Duncan Dies

By Sky News US Team

The first man diagnosed with ebola in the US has died, says the Dallas facility where he was being treated.

"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51am," a release from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital said.

"Mr Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle."

The statement said the hospital staff were "grieving" his death and had sent condolences to his family.

The Liberian national picked up the killer virus in Liberia before flying to Texas where he fell ill and was admitted to the Dallas hospital.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

US authorities are monitoring about 50 people who came into contact with him.

His family said they had visited him on Tuesday at the hospital, but declined to view him via video link because his condition was too "disturbing".

Mr Duncan's nephew, Josephus Weeks, said he and his mother had been unable to sleep after seeing Mr Duncan's face over video during a previous visit.

He was being treated with an experimental drug and had been on a breathing machine while receiving kidney dialysis.

There is no approved treatment for ebola and no vaccine against the virus.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

As news of Mr Duncan's death was released, Secretary of State John Kerry was making an urgent appeal for nations to "step up" their response to the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Mr Kerry said more money, equipment and personnel are needed now.

He said it is essential for airlines to keep flying to West Africa and for borders to remain open to allow for the movement of assistance and medical staff.

The US meanwhile ordered security agents at airports and other entry ports to screen arriving travellers for signs of ebola.

People arriving from ebola-stricken countries in West Africa could begin facing mandatory screening measures as early as this weekend.

Video: 56 Being Checked For Ebola In Spain

Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not provide specifics on how the screenings would be conducted.

He said agents would observe all travellers for "general signs of illness".

Customs and Border Protection agents would also distribute fact sheets to arriving travellers that contain details of what symptoms to look for and directions to call a doctor if they become sick within 21 days, Mr Mayorkas said.

According to US media reports, the measures also call for some travellers to have their temperatures taken upon arrival.

Meanwhile, US doctor Kent Brantly, who survived ebola, has donated blood to an NBC cameraman who is fighting the disease at a Nebraska hospital, the broadcaster said.

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

And a Spanish nurse being treated for ebola in a Madrid hospital says she touched her face with a tainted protective glove after helping treat a man dying from the virus.

Earlier this week President Barack Obama said the chances of an ebola outbreak on US soil were "extraordinarily low".

The current outbreak in West Africa is the deadliest in history, and has already killed nearly 3,500 people.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

DJ 'Raped Teenager After Pop Fame Promise'

A DJ accused of raping a 15-year-old with Jimmy Savile attacked another teenager who responded to his magazine advert looking for "the next teenage pop sensation", a court has been told.

Former Radio Caroline DJ Ray Teret, 72, raped the 17-year-old after giving her "the promise of the dream" of fame and fortune, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

However, the defendant did not find the budding singer "a jot of work", the jury was told.

Teret, then aged in his mid-50s, was said to have impressed the girl when he took her to his house in the mid-1990s and showed her a Porsche car, gold and platinum discs and photographs on the walls of him with celebrities.

Prosecutor Tim Evans said Teret went on to tell the youngster "there were lots of things potentially happening career-wise" and she needed to be in the "bright lights of Manchester".

It led to "a big send-off" from her family as Teret collected her and drove her to his flat where he raped her after she had red wine for the first time and became drunk, the court heard.

The alleged victim was said to have gone "into a bit of a lockdown" as she submitted rather than consented to sex, jurors were told.

William Harper, 65, is also on trial with Teret

Teret then gave her £40 to buy a new dress, said Mr Evans.

Only "the promise of the dream" persuaded her to stay as Teret continued his abuse, he added.

Mr Evans said: "She got to the stage where she protested and his answer to that was telling, you may think.

"He would say that she was too attractive, her fault then, and more significantly that he couldn't do things for her without it happening.

"Could he make it any clearer to this 17-year-old girl who had not got the fame promised, that sex was the price for the fame she wanted?"

He went on: "And the fame and fortune promised? Teret didn't find her a jot of work. Was providing her with work ever what he was truly interested in?"

Teret, of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, denies 18 rapes, two other serious sexual assaults, one attempted rape, 11 indecent assaults and two counts of indecency with a child.

The historical offences dating back to 1962 are in relation to 17 different girls.

Two other men are also on trial with Teret.

Alan Ledger, 62, from Altrincham, denies a serious sexual assault, two indecent assaults and one count of indecency with a child.

William Harper, 65, of Stretford, denies one count of attempted rape.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

School Blocks Charity Worker Over Ebola Fears

A school visit by a charity worker in Greater Manchester has been cancelled because some parents were reportedly worried their children would be infected by ebola.

Miriam Mason-Sesay and her nine-year-old son, Kofi - who was due to study at St Simon's Catholic Primary School in Stockton - are from Sierra Leone.

They have been screened, are healthy and have been given unrestricted movement in the UK.

Kofi came with his mother from Sierra Leone on Thursday

The school tried to reassure parents that they posed no risk but a number of parents were insistent the visit should not go ahead.

In a statement, headteacher Elizabeth Inman said: "A significant number of parents have been in touch with me to express their fears.

"Ebola cannot be spread as some parents have suggested.

"There are many parents who believe that the visit should have gone ahead and that we are contributing to misunderstandings by cancelling it.

The charity worker has been living in Sierra Leone since 2000

"The misguided hysteria emerging is extremely disappointing, distracting us from our core purpose of educating your children and is not an environment that I would wish a visitor to experience."

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Mason-Sesay said she and Kofi had come from Sierra Leone on Thursday evening for fund-raising purposes - something she does every March and October for the charity, EducAid, which was started by her brother and a friend who set up schools for children out there.

The charity worker, who has been in the West African country since 2000, said she and her son had not had any contact with anyone with ebola while in Sierra Leone - or anyone who had been in contact with someone who had had it.

"Absolutely not," she insisted. "That's the trouble really. There have been 600 deaths but we're talking about a population of six million, it's less than 0.1%. It's not hiding behind every bush.

"It's a very nasty disease but you have to go looking to get it. You have to be a health worker or a care worker for somebody who is seriously ill.

"It's disappointing that people would think I would endanger their children in that way and be going round other schools if I were a genuine risk."

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK Soldiers Deployed To Ebola Epicentre

British troops are to be deployed to Sierra Leone on a mission to help fight the spiralling ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Up to 700 soldiers from the Royal Scots Borders 1st Battalion, based in Holywood, Northern Ireland, will eventually be stationed near the capital Freetown.

Around 40 troops have already arrived in the country, said the Ministry of Defence, and more are flying out soon.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Matt Munro said: "This is a challenge unlike any, but the point is that we are very well prepared.

"This kind of operation represents, I think, the future for parts of the British Army.

Video: Ebola: School Blocks Charity Mum

"We deployed in the first instance to Sierra Leone at very short notice, not knowing how long my people were likely to be there."

He added that the soldiers were at a very low risk of contracting the virus.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus will also sail and moor off the country's coast and could be used to evacuate any British casualties if needed.

Three Merlin helicopters will be onboard to fly doctors and personnel to hard-to-reach areas.

Video: UK 'Lacks Ebola Experience'

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "The ebola outbreak in West Africa is already a global threat to public health and it's vital that the UK remains at the forefront of responding to the epidemic.

"We are stepping up significantly the UK's contribution and leadership in work to tackle the outbreak, on land, in the air and at sea.

"At the heart of the package is the commitment to provide more than 750 personnel to help with the establishment of ebola treatment centres and an ebola training academy."

Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones added: "At this stage it's all about trying to make sure that you can set up the proper infrastructure, the proper health services in some of those hard to reach areas.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

"There's no plan for some sort of evacuation or anything like that."

It comes after David Cameron chaired a lunchtime meeting of the emergency COBRA committee.

Four major hospitals in the UK - London's Royal Free Hospital and three others in Sheffield, Newcastle and Liverpool, are on standby to deal with any outbreak in the UK.

The hospitals already have infectious disease units and have been lined up to provide "surge capacity" if the virus spreads to Britain.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

Experts have said the UK is the third most likely country outside Africa to report an ebola case, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning that sporadic cases in Europe are "unavoidable".

Texas ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan - the first to be diagnosed with the disease in the US - died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, officials said.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More